12/28/2010

NYC Blizzard 2010

I put the finishing touches on the post Eight Solutions for Riding a Bike in the Snow yesterday while looking out at a blizzard. As I looked out my window I experienced something I had never witnessed before during a snow storm - wicked flashes of lightening and loud claps of thunder accompanied the cascading snow and howling winds. It was a sight to behold.

The solutions for riding in the snow are great, but without the help of snow plows none of them would have been possible in the wake of the blizzard that hit us. The wind caused huge drifts that left some streets completely untouched by vehicle traffic. When I walked out my front door this was the scene that awaited me.

Yes, a little bit of the snow had come from plows, but as seen in this photo, this bike has fresh powder to a depth of about two feet all around it.

I did see one person riding their bike as I made my way around town, however most of the bikes I saw sat just like these -

It was fun to see the snow as I walked around, but it was a bummer to have to commute by subway. And on a somewhat humorous note, reader Kimberly sent along a link to an entertaining video of some city workers trying to rescue a snow plow. In the process a car ends up getting crunched.

There are always some cars and bikes that get victimized during snow storms by cleaning equipment, but I have never seen a video of one happening before. Video courtesy of Joe My God. Warning, prolific use of the "F" word =)